The present invention relates generally to medical equipment, and more particularly, to a surgical attachment device that is used to secure a small diameter guide wire that is used to insert an angioplasty device into a patient during an angioplasty operation, along with various catheters used during the operation.
During surgical operations, it is customary for surgeons and other operating room personnel to employ suction tubes to remove blood, tissue and other cellular debris from a patient that is undergoing an operation, and air-driven pneumatic tools that are driven by an air source(s) coupled to the tools by way of pneumatic hoses. Furthermore, it is customary to use electrosurgical instruments that are used as cutting and coagulation tools during surgery. These electrosurgical instruments are connected to electrical equipment by way of electrical cables. Unipolar electrosurgical instruments transmit current through the patient to a grounding pad, while bipolar electrosurgical instruments transmit current between the two heads of bipolar forceps. The electrosurgical instruments, pneumatic tools, and cables are used in almost all surgeries. More recently, endoscopic surgery has proliferated. These surgeries require fiber optic light cables and video camera cables passing to and from the operative field, respectively.
During surgery, it is common practice to store the electrosurgical instruments and tools in a self-adherent plastic pocket of a drape that is disposed over the patient when they are not in use. This also provides easy access for the surgeon. The cables and hoses that connect the electrosurgical instruments and tools to their electrical equipment, air sources and endoscopic equipment are loosely gathered together adjacent an extremity of the patient and are secured by wrapping a portion of the drape around the cables and then holding them in place using a surgical clamp. In a similar fashion, the suction tubes are also routed and clamped in place, typically by the same type of surgical clamp. As should be clear from this typical operating room scenario, the cables are not very well controlled and in many instances interfere with the operation, or may become dislodged or contaminated.
To improve these operating room conditions, the present inventor has developed a number of surgical attachment devices that may be used to secure the tubes, cables and hoses during operations. Such surgical attachment devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,217, filed Jan. 17, 1995 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,821, filed Oct. 23, 1995. The present invention provides for an improvement to these devices that specifically address securing small diameter wires, such as guide wires and catheters used during angioplasty operations, along with angiography, angioplasty, coronary artery stent and laser catheters, and the like.
With specific regard to the present invention, during an angioplasty operation, typically, an angiogram guide wire and catheter are inserted into the femoral artery of a patient and maneuvered until they are located at a desired position. Angiograms are performed to determine the state of the blocked artery. After the angiograms are performed, the angiogram catheter and angiogram guide wire are replaced. The angiograms are analyzed prior to the operation and during following procedures.
Then, the angioplasty operation is undertaken. A relatively long length of small diameter angioplasty guide wire is then inserted into the femoral artery and is maneuvered until it arrives at the blocked artery location, typically using the angiogram catheter as a guide. The angioplasty wire is on the order of 0.014 inches in diameter. The angiogram catheter is then removed by sliding it over the angioplasty guide wire. An angioplasty catheter (or other device, such as angioplasty stent or laser catheters, for example) is then slid over the angioplasty guide wire while holding the exposed end of the angioplasty guide wire and is maneuvered until it is in position to expand the artery adjacent to the blockage. The angioplasty guide wire has a length that is substantially longer than the angioplasty, stent or laser catheters.
Furthermore, in many instances, multiple different angioplasty catheters may be used during an operation. In such cases, one catheter is removed by sliding it out of the artery of the patient over the angioplasty guide wire while the angioplasty guide wire remains in place, which is at the desired location in the patient. Another angioplasty catheter is then slid over the angioplasty guide wire and is maneuvered into position, and the operation continues. The angioplasty guide wire must be handled during insertion of the additional angioplasty catheter.
In a conventional operating room situation, the tail end of the angioplasty guide wire sticks out of the femoral artery and gets in the way of surgical personnel and other tubes and devices in the operating field. The angioplasty guide wire is a nuisance and can fall from the operating field and become contaminated. The angioplasty guide wire is also relatively difficult to handle and can become kinked and inoperative if it is not kept in place.
Accordingly, and in order to eliminate the problems associated with handling angioplasty guide wires, and the like, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for a surgical attachment device that is used to secure a small diameter wire or tube, such as an angioplasty guide wire during an operation, along with various catheters used during the operation.